This week, Martin spoke with Bicycling while attending the Omega Pharma–Quick-Step team presentation in Brussels, and he outlined his goals for the 2012 season.
Bicycling: You were one of the big-name transfers of the off-season, coming to Omega Pharma–Quick-Step from HTC–Highroad. How has the transition been for you?

Tony Martin: It's definitely a big change for me. I grew up with HTC and knew everybody there, so coming to a new team is just very different. So far I’m feeling good about the team and the staff. We're just getting to know one another. So far I'm really happy with my decision to come here. I'm a guy who goes with his gut reaction, and I had a really good feeling when I met with Patrick Lefevere, the team manager. And that’s what made me come here.
Bicycling: Have you experienced Belgian culture shock?
Martin: [Laughs] No! We had a lot of Belgian soigneurs and mechanics on HTC. They're really very open and international. Many speak English and German, so it's easy to communicate, too.
Bicycling: Last year you won Paris-Nice, one of the biggest one-week races and a logical step to the three-week races such as the Tour de France. Christian Prudhomme, the Tour de France director, told me recently that his dream was to have "a rider like Tony Martin" grab the yellow jersey after the first time trial in this year’s Tour and really force the climbers to go on the attack. Do you think this could be a good Tour for you?
Martin: It could definitely be a good Tour for me, and I'm very focused. But at the same time, for the past three years it has been disappointing in terms of the general classification, especially in the high mountains. So this year I want to concentrate first on what I know I can really excel at, like the time trials.

This year is also special because the Olympics come right after the Tour. For me it's better to focus on the time trials in the Tour and then focus on the Olympics, rather than try to get in the top five in the Tour and then be exhausted for the Games. I mean, I'm not going to just sit up in the mountains, but I'm going to be careful not to go too deep. Also, I'm not going to worry so much about weight, because a little extra muscle could actually help my time trialing, although it'll hurt my climbing.

Tony Martin in his new Omega Pharma–Quick-Step team kit. (OPQS/Tim de Waele)
Bicycling: One of cycling’s great lessons is learning one’s limits and how to best exploit them.
Martin: Yes—definitely. And I'm a really good time-trialer, so I have a shot at Olympic gold in the time trial. The Olympics come around only once every four years.
Bicycling: It seems the Olympics mean a lot to German cyclists, especially those who came out of the old East Germany. In traditional cycling countries, the Olympics don’t mean as much because it's all about the Tour. But in Germany I sense it's different.

Martin: Yeah, definitely. The Olympics are just the biggest sporting event ever, so I think it's a good way to reach a lot of non-cycling fans. And in Germany we have lost a lot of cycling fans and media coverage, so an Olympic medal for Germany in cycling might be a good way to bring people back. Maybe I can make cycling a little more popular in Germany again.